Acceptability Study of “Ascenso”: An Online Program for Monitoring and Supporting Patients with Depression in Chile
Open accessAbstract
Background: Major depression is a highly prevalent and severe mental disease. Despite the effective treatment options available, the risk of relapse is high. Interventions based on information and communication technologies generate innovative opportunities to provide support to patients after they completed treatment for depression. Materials and Methods: This acceptability study evaluated the Internet-based program Apoyo, Seguimiento y Cuidado de Enfermedades a partir de Sistemas Operativos (ASCENSO) in terms of its feasibility and acceptability in a sample of 35 patients in Chile. Results: The study reveals high rates of acceptance and satisfaction among patients who actively used the program. As obstacles, patients mentioned technical problems, a lack of contact with other participants, and an insufficient connection between the program and the health service professionals. Conclusions: ASCENSO appears to be a promising complement to regular care for depression. Following improvements of the program based on participants' feedback, future research should evaluate its efficacy and cost-effectiveness.
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In 6 studies, concern about social avoidance (people using self-guided interventions instead of in-person clinic therapy or group sessions) was a barrier among both users and service providers.
“In 6 studies, a noted barrier among both users and service providers was a concern about social avoidance, that is, a concern that people might use self-guided interventions in lieu of coming into a clinic in person and engaging in therapy or group sessions [78,104,122,133,138,195].”
From Barriers to and facilitators of user engagement with digital mental health interventions: Systematic review (2021) · cites this paper as [195]
Adoption of an intervention as part of therapy depended on the therapist's digital literacy skills, past experience with mental health technology, and ability to easily integrate its use into their practice.
“The adoption of an intervention as part of therapy depended on the therapist’s digital literacy skills [244,245], their past experience with mental health technology [120], and the ability to easily integrate its use into their practice as a provider [132,195,205,211,224,226,246].”
From Barriers to and facilitators of user engagement with digital mental health interventions: Systematic review (2021) · cites this paper as [195]
Most participants in the Chilean SUMMIT/ASCENSO program displayed a good level of acceptance and generally regarded the program as a source of support and as beneficial.
“Most of the participants displayed a good level of acceptance and generally regarded the program as a source of support and as beneficial”
From Internet-Based Interventions for the Prevention and Treatment of Mental Disorders in Latin America: A Scoping Review (2019) · cites this paper as [32]
Only half of the participants in the Chilean SUMMIT/ASCENSO program actively used the program and/or the online chat available.
“however, only half of them actively used the program and/or the online chat available.”
From Internet-Based Interventions for the Prevention and Treatment of Mental Disorders in Latin America: A Scoping Review (2019) · cites this paper as [32]
Two pilot studies from Chile showed acceptable online depression treatment programs, including an online video game for adolescents and an online symptom-monitoring program for patients receiving treatment for major depression.
“Two pilot studies from Chile showed acceptable online depression treatment programs, including an online video game for supporting depression treatment among adolescents (31) and an online program for symptom monitoring in patients receiving treatment for major depression (32).”
From Internet-Based Interventions for the Prevention and Treatment of Mental Disorders in Latin America: A Scoping Review (2019) · cites this paper as [32]
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- Authors
- Espinosa, H. D., Carrasco, Á., Moessner, M., Cáceres, C., Gloger, S., Rojas, G., Perez, J. C., Vanegas, J., Bauer, S., & Krause, M.
- Affiliations
- Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (CL)
- Universidad de Chile
- University Hospital Heidelberg (DE)
- PSICOMEDICA Clinical & Research Group
- University of Chile (CL)
- Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
- Universidad de Antioquia (CO)
- University Hospital
- Corresponding author
- Espinosa, H. Daniel
- Venue
- Telemedicine and e-Health
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2016-07
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 577-583
- ISSN
- 1530-5627 (ISSN-L)
- 1556-3669
- OpenAlex
- W2235917654
- Cited by
- 25
- References
- 18
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 4.61
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Licence
- Locations
- Telemedicine Journal and e-Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Universidad de Chile (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Keywords
- major depressive disorder, patient acceptability, patient satisfaction, patient monitoring
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Chile, Major Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Patient Education as Topic, Recurrence, Risk Factors, Self Care, Patient Satisfaction, Telemedicine, Internet
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